Product Overview
This large superb-quality silver dirham coin was struck and used in the Sassanian empire under King Khusro II from 590–628 CE. The coin is one of the finest surviving examples, remaining in original as-struck uncirculated condition.

Khusro II was also known as Khusro the Victorious, and was the last great Sasanian king, ruling from 590 to 628, with an interruption of one year. He was the son of Hormizd IV, who reigned from 579 to 590, and the grandson of Khusro I, who reigned from 531 to 579. This large silver dirham was issued by Khusro II and circulated throughout much of ancient Europe, Asia and Africa.

Khusro II
Khusro II was the last Sassanian king to have a lengthy reign before the Muslim conquest, which began five years after his execution. He lost his throne, then recovered it with the help of the Byzantine emperor Maurice, and a decade later, went on to emulate the feats of the Achaemenids, conquering the rich Roman provinces of the Middle East; much of his reign was spent in wars with the Byzantine Empire and struggling against usurpers such as Bahram Chobin and Vistahm.

After Maurice was murdered in 602, Khusro began a series of wars against the Byzantine Empire that lasted for the rest of his reign. For 20 years the Persians were victorious; Mesopotamia, Armenia, Syria and central Asia Minor were conquered. but the tide of conquest was finally turned against Khusro by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius in a series of campaigns between 622 and 627.

In 628 Khusro II was condemned and executed by his own people. Under his reign the economy had flagged, taxation had increased, and the professional army had turned into a military aristocracy that weakened the authority of the king. Persia had become sufficiently weakened that the Arabs were able to conquer it easily in 637.

In works of Persian literature such as the Shahnameh and Khusro and Shirin, a famous tragic romance by Nizami Ganjavi (1141–1209), a highly elaborated fictional version of Khusro's life made him one of the greatest heroes of the culture, as much as a lover as a king. Khusro and Shirin tells the story of his love for the Aramean/Roman princess Shirin, who becomes his queen after a lengthy courtship strewn with mishaps and difficulties.

• Obverse design: a portrait of King Khusro II
• Reverse design: a depiction of the followers of Zoroaster, the ancient religion of the Sassanians, worshipping over a fire-altar

Includes:
• King Khusro II Silver Dirham 590–628 CE

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